Motivation
by miharu365
Summary: Targent!Hershel. layclaire. Spoilers for Azran Legacy. Theodore, son of Targent's head, enrolls in Gressenheller's archaeology program.
1. Thought

He had never really thought about how different his father's old field of study was from... whatever it could be said his family actually _did_, so when he had finally begun his first archaeology course at Gressenheller University he was surprised to learn that he actually enjoyed it. The idea of making friends was even more far-fetched, yet there he was with a classmate by the name of Clark Triton as they both prepared for their first exam of the year. Try as they might, for every student there is a distraction around every corner or, in Theodore's case, every door. Through one specific door and carrying several books was the third member of their study group-a bespectacled young woman with ginger hair.

Yes, it was very hard to stay focused at a time like this.

He hadn't thought much about university. With his family's business travel for Theodore was common, and he had never been able to look into the many fine establishments around the country. It just so happened that while staying in London, Theodore had the opportunity to walk past one Gressenheller University, known for its archaeology program and several scientific research facilities.

It being an ordinary fall day with particularly chilly weather, Theodore remained in his Targent uniform for his walk around the town. Something about the atmosphere surrounding his brother and father that day had become too strong to bear, so a little cold breeze on his skin was welcome to the stuffiness of his room.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye he spotted a flash of green. A sweater, under red hair and glasses. A round face turned to smile at a waving stranger as the whole figure, a young woman, crossed the road before turning to move almost parallel to Theodore. As if she could feel his stare, she turned her head and gave him a smile, lifting a hand as she walked by. Theodore could only raise his own tentative hand as his cheeks went pink, but the girl looked down, saw the time on her watch, and picked up speed until she was well away from him.

That next spring he had started his first semester at Gressenheller only to find that the girl who'd been briskly walking through his mind in a green sweater for the past four months had quite quickly run into him on his first day of classes. The conversation began with general and profuse apologies from both sides followed by a realization.

"Have I met you?" the girl asked, picking up her last book. "You look really familiar."

The thought of her somehow remembering his face promptly made him stutter like a fool before lying like an even bigger fool. "No, I-I don't believe we've met before. My name is Theodore, Theodore Bronev." She flashed a curious smile before reaching out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you! My name is Claire," she said, freeing one of her hands beneath her stack of books in order to shake his. "If you can't tell, I'm studying physics. How about you?" Unfortunately, the young man was already distracted enough by the handshake that he could only stammer out a few words.

"I-uh, I mean I…archaeology, is what I'm studying, that is-" She let out a small laugh that made his cheeks burn.

"Is it your first day? I don't think I've seen you in the halls." A nod was all she got in response. "Well, if you need help finding anything, then just ask, all right? I know this place well enough by now, at least when I'm not in a rush, but it can be quite a puzzle to get around." Her grin turned sheepish. "Sorry again for running into you."

"No! It's… it's fine; no harm done."

And so, with nothing else to say-a common mishap of first conversations among new college students-they said their goodbyes and went off to their respective classes.

Which is to say they went off to the same class, much to their mutual surprise and delight.

Theodore Bronev never had much to think about outside of the family business-whatever that may be. Now, he had many, many things to be distracted by.


	2. Familiarity

Time moved quickly during the many hours at Gressenheller every day, and every day there Theodore was, whether that time be spent studying in the library, chatting with a professor, or visiting his friends that resided on campus. There were times he envied said friends; he did not feel quite at ease until he made his first steps over the campus border and into his home away from what was, at that moment, home. Due to Theodore's sudden interest in archaeological studies, he, his brother, and his father had found a relatively nice place on the outskirts of the city to which Theodore was determined never to bring his friends. And so he watched as the hours slipped through his fingers in mere moments.

Taking those first steps of the day onto campus, Theodore let out the breath he was holding and found a spot on a bench under a budding tree, its small but numerous leaves giving reprieve from the slowly rising sun. Despite the way he kept looking up from the bag he was fiddling with, the slight tapping his foot, the growing impatience in his chest, he still stopped to enjoy the few quiet minutes that seemed to last hours; the day would surely feel like a moment once it truly started.

The still minutes came to an end with his name shouted through the spring air, and the day began.

"Theodore! Hey" Clark exclaimed, adjusting the bag on his shoulder and jogging over to his friend. Straggling behind the blond man was Claire who waved with a tired smile. Noticeable bags had formed under her eyes. A hand slapped onto Theodore's shoulder. "Sorry again for the short notice. Today was the only day Brenda could meet up and she's busy later."

"No, I'm quite all right," Theodore replied. With a glance over Clark's shoulder, he continued, "though, Claire, are you sure you're all right?" Claire jumped a little at being talked to. A yawn escaped right as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Oh! Yes, I'm fine. The workload has just been pretty heavy this week since I started that internship, and it's been a puzzle in itself to manage my time." The ginger woman pushed up her glasses with her shoulder as she shifted a white box from one arm to the other.

"Do you need some help with…what exactly are you holding?" Clark asked, turning to face her.

"No, it's fine! I just need to drop off a few things on the way to the café." Clark raised an eyebrow before shrugging and swinging his arms around Theodore and Claire and pulling them closer.

"Whatever you say, Claire. Either way, let's get going; don't want to keep Brenda waiting!" And with that, Clark dragged his friends onward without seeing the exasperated and laughing smiles they shot each other. After Claire managed to free herself and drop off the box of what seemed to be a copious amount of paperwork, the three students went down the road to meet Clark's sweetheart at their designated meeting spot, a new café that had opened just a month or two ago.

Outside this café stood a brunette woman in flowing clothing by whose side Clark was quick to take his place. He placed his hands on her shoulders and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Claire, Theodore, this is Brenda Kingston," Clark said, smiling like a fool. Brenda smiled at Claire and Theodore, reaching out to shake their hands.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Claire said, reaching out to shake Brenda's hand. "Clark has told us a lot about you and your travels." Brenda smiled and looked at Clark.

"Has he now? I hope he left some stories for me to tell." Reassurances abounded as the four of them walked inside the café and settled at a table by the windows spanning the whole wall, with Clark and Brenda on one side and Claire and Theodore on the other.

It seemed Clark had only scratched the surface of his girlfriend's travels, as for nearly two hours she managed to keep all three friends almost under a spell as she described the different locations she had visited and studied in both on the Continent and farther abroad than Clark and Claire had ever traveled. While Theodore had traveled to some of the places Brenda talked about (and probably more), the way she delved into local lore and landscapes, cultures and communities, kept Theodore more than interested.

To be able to stay somewhere and really soak in the history of it all; to meet the people and take on the puzzles they had to offer. Despite Targent keeping his family moving from place to place throughout his life, Theodore's main role was to either stay put or help look up information specifically related to some ancient civilization called the Azran. Finding connections to the Azran. Looking for possible Azran landmarks.

Azran.

Azran.

A light had on his shoulder brought Theodore back to the café. He saw Claire give him a quizzical look and blushed for spacing out as he did. Both looked back to Brenda who hadn't broken her verbal stride. She had brought out some souvenir that could not be described as anything Theodore had ever seen; the three friends looked at the strange object in awe, and Brenda continued on as if she hadn't brought some alien thing to the table, telling of where it came from, how she came to possess it, never telling them what it actually was. It was during this non-explanation that she caught the time on her watch.

"Ah, sorry, it looks like I have to start heading back. I have a meeting with my advisor about my classes for the rest of the semester." Their time at the café was at an end, and the group headed back to the university a little after one o'clock in the afternoon. As they walked, it seemed that Clark and Brenda lagged behind little by little in the crowd, leaving Claire and Theodore to themselves. Claire noticed this and laughed.

"They really do make a good couple, don't they? Claire asked, looking over her shoulder to find that the couple had completely disappeared in the crowd. "I don't think Clark took his eyes off her for a second when she spoke."

"To be far, she did have some very interesting stories," Theodore replied. "But they do seem to like each other very much." As he spoke, he kept his eyes straight forward, looking only at the top of Claire's head when he turned to her.

"Are you all right?" Claire placed a hand on his arm. "You've been acting strange ever since that time at the café." At the touch, Theodore flinched and looked down at her, making eye contact.

"I-I… I just started thinking about all the things she had done while traveling. It's just… amazing."

"Yes, it certainly is," Claire said, looking down at her interlocked fingers. "Really amazing… say, Theodore?"

"Hm?"

"Besides the amazing stories and everything, it was really fun today. The café itself was really nice. Do you think you'd want to go again sometime next week?"

"That would be nice. I'm sure Clark and Brenda would-"

"Let me clarify: would you like to go to the café with me next week? It could be that café, or one of the ones on campus or-" Theodore almost tripped over his own feet. Claire covered her mouth to smother a chuckle as he regained his balance. "It's just that Clark isn't in our class, and I thought it would be a nice way to study together."

"Ah, right, of course. That would be great." Theodore scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Only he could be that big of an idiot, but this realization didn't stop that strange anticipation from growing in his chest.

Before they knew it they had reached the bench from that morning, and Claire remembered some errand or other that she had thought to complete that morning but had forgotten. The two parted ways with a promise to set a date and time for their study session that next week.

It would be at once the longest and shortest week of Theodore's life thus far.

"They really do make a good couple, don't they?"

It took much longer for Clark and Brenda to realize how far they had fallen behind. Brenda had delved into some other story about her trip back to London and before the couple knew it their friends had disappeared.

"What?"

"Claire and Theo. Are they together?" Brenda asked.

"Well if I had to take a guess I'd say at least one of them would be all for it, but Claire…" Clark folded his arms behind his head to stretch. "She's been pretty busy lately, with school and this internship she just started. And considering she's one of the most perceptive people I know, I'd say she already has an idea about how he feels."

"Really? How about her?"

"All I know is that she's pretty popular in the physics department and that she's never reciprocated anyone's feelings for her. She's just so _calm_ about everything. If she did like someone, she's very good at hiding it."

"Or we just don't know what it's like when she does like someone. But you do know her better than me, so I can't say much," Brenda paused, then looked up at Clark and pinched his cheek playfully. "Though, you're right on the money if you think he likes her. He looks just like you when he's with her, just a bit quieter."


End file.
